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BACKGROUND: Firearm suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. Suicide prevention experts have advocated for upstream interventions that can be implemented prior to the development of suicidal thoughts, particularly those that focus on lethal means safety (LMS; e.g., increasing secure firearm storage). To reach firearm owners with LMS messaging, researchers have developed suicide prevention training content which can be incorporated into firearm training courses. However, no study to date has evaluated impact of such training on firearm course students' subsequent knowledge, attitudes, and openness related to secure firearm storage. Thus, the current study sought to examine both the feasibility and acceptability of a LMS-focused suicide prevention training module among firearm course students, as well as the impact of this module on students' secure firearm storage-related knowledge, attitudes, and openness. METHODS: Firearm instructors (N = 6) and students in firearm classes (N = 83) were recruited to participate. Students were invited to complete voluntary, anonymous pre- and post-surveys during courses they attended that were led by these instructors. Instructors and students were also invited to complete a brief qualitative interview. RESULTS: Results indicated that firearm instructors and students in firearm courses found the module feasible and acceptable. Additionally, students' knowledge about the relationship between firearms and suicide, openness to changing firearm storage practices, and endorsement of the importance of discussing firearms and suicide with fellow firearm owners, as well as willingness and confidence to do so, all significantly increased after viewing the module. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide strong support for the use of such culturally competent LMS messaging as upstream suicide prevention in settings such as concealed carry courses.

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Objectives: To examine factors that differentiate firearm owners who endorse specific reasons for secure and unsecure firearm storage. Methods: A subsample of firearm-owning adults (n = 3,119) drawn from a representative sample of adults (n = 7,785) residing in nine US states participated in an online survey. Results: The most common reason for not always using a gun safe was concerns that they render firearms too slow to access during an emergency (60.2%). The most common reasons for current firearm storage were ensuring ready access in case of emergency (59.7%) and preventing access by children and adolescents (44.6%). Firearm owners varied on their reasons based upon current storage habits, reasons for ownership, and the presence of firearms in the home. Conclusions: Firearm owners with children in the home are more likely to select storage methods they feel will prevent access by vulnerable individuals, whereas those who own for defensive purposes and those who store firearms loaded and unlocked are more likely to endorse storing their firearms for quick home defense and convenience and to see gun safes as unnecessary obstacles.

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OBJECTIVE: To identify demographic and behavioral correlates of dangerous firearm storage (i.e., unlocked and loaded) among firearm owners in nine states. METHODS: Online survey data from the probability-based sample were collected using Ipsos Knowledge Panel. Participants were adults residing in nine states across the United States (n = 7785). RESULTS: Nearly one third of the firearm owners within the sample stored at least one of their firearms unlocked and loaded. Greater threat sensitivity was associated with dangerous firearm storage. Established firearm owners who purchased an additional firearm during the firearm purchasing surge (2020-2021) had increased odds of storing at least one firearm unlocked and loaded. Those who had direct exposure to firearm violence and those whose primary reason for having a firearm at home was protection also had increased odds of storing at least one firearm unlocked and loaded. CONCLUSIONS: The results contribute to the literature on firearm storage tendencies, highlighting correlates of dangerous firearm storage within the home related to perceptions of threat and direct experiences with firearm violence. Implications include the need for broad public education on the value of secure storage targeted toward to those who have an elevated perception of danger and have been personally exposed to firearm violence.

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Background: Firearms used in pediatric firearm deaths are most often obtained from the child's home, making secure firearm storage initiatives imperative in prevention efforts. Evidence-based home visiting (EBHV) programs are implemented with over 277,000 families annually, providing an opportunity for secure firearm storage counseling. The purpose of this study was to assess EBHV providers' experiences with firearm screening ("assessment"), secure storage counseling, and their perceptions for related training needs. Methods: Providers in the U.S. from SafeCare®, an EBHV program often implemented with families experiencing increased risk of child neglect and physical or emotional abuse, were invited to participate in a survey to examine firearm assessment and attitudes toward and experiences with firearm safety counseling. Survey items were primarily Likert scale ratings to indicate level of agreement, with some open-ended follow-up questions. Descriptive statistics (i.e., frequencies and percentages) were used to report item-level agreement. A post hoc analysis was conducted using Spearman correlation to examine the association between assessment and counseling and provider-level factors. Results: Sixty-three SafeCare providers consented to and completed the survey items. Almost three-quarters (74.6%) agreed/strongly agreed that they assess in-home firearm availability. However, 66.7% agreed/strongly agreed that they have not been adequately trained to discuss firearm safety topics. A substantial proportion (80.6%) indicated they would counsel more if materials and training on this topic were available. Response variability emerged by level of urbanicity. A post hoc analysis found that providers' self-reported frequency of assessment and counseling were associated with their comfort level discussing firearm safety and whether or not they had worked with families impacted by firearm injury. Conclusion: SafeCare providers report a need for materials and training on secure firearm storage, and a willingness to provide more counseling with proper training to the families they serve. Findings illuminate the need for secure storage initiatives for EBHV programs, which have broad service reach to a substantial number of at-risk U.S. families annually.

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BACKGROUND: Although secure firearm storage can prevent firearm injury and death, secure storage is relatively rare. This tendency may be driven in part by a perceived lack of utility for secure storage in preventing suicide and other gun violence-related outcomes. METHOD: We recruited a large (n = 3510) representative sample of residents from five US states and assessed the degree to which those who do and do not store their firearms securely perceive different utility in specific firearm storage practices for suicide prevention. To test for specificity, we examined if those differences hold when considering unintentional shooting and firearm theft prevention. RESULTS: Those who currently store their firearms unsecured reported lower perceived utility in several firearm storage practices, particularly for suicide and theft prevention. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight that a lack of perceived utility in secure firearm storage may partially drive unsecure firearm storage. Efforts to promote secure storage must address this misperception.

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To avoid rounding errors associated with the limited representation of significant digits when applying the floating-point Krawtchouk transform in image processing, we present an integer and reversible version of the Krawtchouk transform (IRKT). This proposed IRKT generates integer-valued coefficients within the Krawtchouk domain, seamlessly aligning with the integer representation commonly utilized in lossless image applications. Building upon the IRKT, we introduce a novel 3D reversible data hiding (RDH) algorithm designed for the secure storage and transmission of extensive medical data within the IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) sector. Through the utilization of the IRKT-based 3D RDH method, a substantial amount of additional data can be embedded into 3D carrier medical images without augmenting their original size or compromising information integrity upon data extraction. Extensive experimental evaluations substantiate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, particularly regarding its high embedding capacity, imperceptibility, and resilience against statistical attacks. The integration of this proposed algorithm into the IoMT sector furnishes enhanced security measures for the safeguarded storage and transmission of massive medical data, thereby addressing the limitations of conventional 2D RDH algorithms for medical images.

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The reliable circulation of automotive supply chain data is crucial for automotive manufacturers and related enterprises as it promotes efficient supply chain operations and enhances their competitiveness and sustainability. However, with the increasing prominence of privacy protection and information security issues, traditional data sharing solutions are no longer able to meet the requirements for highly reliable secure storage and flexible access control. In response to this demand, we propose a secure data storage and access control scheme for the supply chain ecosystem based on the enterprise-level blockchain platform Hyperledger Fabric. The design incorporates a dual-layer attribute-based auditable access control model for access control, with four smart contracts aimed at coordinating and implementing access policies. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach exhibits significant advantages under large-scale data and multi-attribute conditions. It enables fine-grained, dynamic access control under ciphertext and maintains high throughput and security in simulated real-world operational scenarios.

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BACKGROUND: Preventing firearm-involved injuries is a critical public health priority. Firearm locking devices can prevent firearm injuries, such as suicide and unintentional shootings, as well as theft. Various firearm locking devices exist; however, little is known about firearm owners' preferred locking devices for secure firearm storage. In this systematic review, we examined existing literature on preferred locking devices for secure storage of personal firearms among United States (US) firearm owners with the purpose of understanding practical implications and needs for future research. METHODS: We searched 8 major databases, as well as the grey literature, for English-language sources published on or before January 24, 2023, that empirically examined firearm locking device preferences. Following PRISMA guidelines, coders independently screened and reviewed 797 sources using pre-determined criteria. Overall, 38 records met inclusion criteria and were included in this review. RESULTS: The majority of studies measure and report on participant use of various types of locking devices, but few go on to measure preference between device options and the attributes and features that may contribute to an individual's preference. Included studies suggest that a preference for larger devices, such as lockboxes and gun safes, may exist among US firearm owners. CONCLUSIONS: Review of included studies suggests that current prevention efforts may not be aligned with firearm owners' preferences. Additionally, findings from this systematic review emphasize the need for additional methodological rigorous research to understand firearm locking device preferences. Expanded knowledge in this area will result in actionable data and foundational best practices for programming that encourages behavior change concerning secure storage of personal firearms to prevent injury and death.

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BACKGROUND: Genomic variants are considered sensitive information, revealing potentially private facts about individuals. Therefore, it is important to control access to such data. A key aspect of controlled access is secure storage and efficient query of access logs, for potential misuse. However, there are challenges to securing logs, such as designing against the consequences of "single points of failure". A potential approach to circumvent these challenges is blockchain technology, which is currently popular in cryptocurrency due to its properties of security, immutability, and decentralization. One of the tasks of the iDASH (Integrating Data for Analysis, Anonymization, and Sharing) Secure Genome Analysis Competition in 2018 was to develop time- and space-efficient blockchain-based ledgering solutions to log and query user activity accessing genomic datasets across multiple sites, using MultiChain. METHODS: MultiChain is a specific blockchain platform that offers "data streams" embedded in the chain for rapid and secure data storage. We devised a storage protocol taking advantage of the keys in the MultiChain data streams and created a data frame from the chain allowing efficient query. Our solution to the iDASH competition was selected as the winner at a workshop held in San Diego, CA in October 2018. Although our solution worked well in the challenge, it has the drawback that it requires downloading all the data from the chain and keeping it locally in memory for fast query. To address this, we provide an alternate "bigmem" solution that uses indices rather than local storage for rapid queries. RESULTS: We profiled the performance of both of our solutions using logs with 100,000 to 600,000 entries, both for querying the chain and inserting data into it. The challenge solution requires 12 seconds time and 120 Mb of memory for querying from 100,000 entries. The memory requirement increases linearly and reaches 470 MB for a chain with 600,000 entries. Although our alternate bigmem solution is slower and requires more memory (408 seconds and 250 MB, respectively, for 100,000 entries), the memory requirement increases at a slower rate and reaches only 360 MB for 600,000 entries. CONCLUSION: Overall, we demonstrate that genomic access log files can be stored and queried efficiently with blockchain. Beyond this, our protocol potentially could be applied to other types of health data such as electronic health records.

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BACKGROUND: As pharmacogenomics data becomes increasingly integral to clinical treatment decisions, appropriate data storage and sharing protocols need to be adopted. One promising option for secure, high-integrity storage and sharing is Ethereum smart contracts. Ethereum is a blockchain platform, and smart contracts are immutable pieces of code running on virtual machines in this platform that can be invoked by a user or another contract (in the blockchain network). The 2019 iDASH (Integrating Data for Analysis, Anonymization, and Sharing) competition for Secure Genome Analysis challenged participants to develop time- and space-efficient Ethereum smart contracts for gene-drug relationship data. METHODS: Here we design a specific smart contract to store and query gene-drug interactions in Ethereum using an index-based, multi-mapping approach. Our contract stores each pharmacogenomics observation, a gene-variant-drug triplet with outcome, in a mapping searchable by a unique identifier, allowing for time and space efficient storage and query. This solution ranked in the top three at the 2019 IDASH competition. We further improve our "challenge solution" and develop an alternate "fastQuery" smart contract, which combines together identical gene-variant-drug combinations into a single storage entry, leading to significantly better scalability and query efficiency. RESULTS: On a private, proof-of-authority network, both our challenge and fastQuery solutions exhibit approximately linear memory and time usage for inserting into and querying small databases (<1,000 entries). For larger databases (1000 to 10,000 entries), fastQuery maintains this scaling. Furthermore, both solutions can query by a single field ("0-AND") or a combination of fields ("1- or 2-AND"). Specifically, the challenge solution can complete a 2-AND query from a small database (100 entries) in 35ms using 0.1 MB of memory. For the same query, fastQuery has a 2-fold improvement in time and a 10-fold improvement in memory. CONCLUSION: We show that pharmacogenomics data can be stored and queried efficiently using Ethereum blockchain. Our solutions could potentially be used to store a range of clinical data and extended to other fields requiring high-integrity data storage and efficient access.

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ABSTRACT The digital data stored in the cloud requires much space due to copy of the same data. It can be reduced by dedupilcation, eliminating the copy of the repeated data in the cloud provided services. Identifying common checkoff data both files storing them only once. Deduplication can yield cost savings by increasing the utility of a given amount of storage. Unfortunately, deduplication has many security problems so more than one encryption is required to authenticate data. We have developed a solution that provides both data security and space efficiency in server storage and distributed content checksum storage systems. Here we adopt a method called interactive Message-Locked Encryption with Convergent Encryption (iMLEwCE). In this iMLEwCE the data is encrypted firstly then the cipher text is again encrypted. Block-level deduplication is used to reduce the storage space. Encryption keys are generated in a consistent configuration of data dependency from the chunk data. The identical chunks will always encrypt to the same cipher text. The keys configuration cannot be deduced by the hacker from the encrypted chunk data. So the information is protected from cloud server. This paper focuses on reducing the storage space and providing security in online cloud deduplication.

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In conventional image trading systems, images are usually stored unprotected on a server, rendering them vulnerable to untrusted server providers and malicious intruders. This paper proposes a conceptual image trading framework that enables secure storage and retrieval over Internet services. The process involves three parties: an image publisher, a server provider, and an image buyer. The aim is to facilitate secure storage and retrieval of original images for commercial transactions, while preventing untrusted server providers and unauthorized users from gaining access to true contents. The framework exploits the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) coefficients and the moment invariants of images. Original images are visually protected in the DCT domain, and stored on a repository server. Small representation of the original images, called thumbnails, are generated and made publicly accessible for browsing. When a buyer is interested in a thumbnail, he/she sends a query to retrieve the visually protected image. The thumbnails and protected images are matched using the DC component of the DCT coefficients and the moment invariant feature. After the matching process, the server returns the corresponding protected image to the buyer. However, the image remains visually protected unless a key is granted. Our target application is the online market, where publishers sell their stock images over the Internet using public cloud servers.